Immediate reconstruction of the chest wall by latissimus dorsi and vertical rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flaps after radical mastectomy for a huge pleomorphic liposarcoma

We describe a 53-year-old woman who had a huge pleomorphic liposarcoma of the left breast. She had a left Halstead mastectomy, which left a huge defect in the chest wall. We did an immediate reconstruction of the chest wall with combined latissimuss dorsi musculocutaneous (for the upper half of the defect) and vertical rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flaps (for the lower half of the defect). She then had radiotherapy and chemotherapy during which time the flaps remained viable and provided satisfactory coverage for the irradiated area. Unfortunately four months later she was diagnosed with spinal cord and lung metastases and died seven months after the operation.